A New Shade of Ranger
by Hero Slayer
Summary: Being an Ex-Evil Ranger is never easy. Having an entire team of Ex-Evil Rangers is even worse.
1. Prologue: Enter the Dragonzord

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, or any characters that are a part of the Power Rangers franchise. I did create Jaden Park though.**

**A New Shade of Ranger **

**Prologue- Enter the Dragon...zord**

* * *

Angel Grove is a pretty nice place to live. This wasn't my home per say, but it was a peaceful little town. Emphasis on was.

But back to that later.

I had moved to Angel Grove to live with my uncle who runs a dojo, (He has a robot assistant. Why does a dojo need a robot?) because of some family issues. The first couple of weeks were nice and standard. Not too many friends and being picked on for being the new kid at my new High School. Normal. Then things started to go downhill.

Monsters started making attacks around the town. Oh, don't worry too much, they were the small fry minions and the police had a new monster division that drove them back. No things got worse a few days after that first public attack.

The Power Rangers showed up.

Now, normally this was a good thing, especially in Angel Grove. When the public first saw the six spandex clad heroes they cheered. That was until the rangers ordered the minions to destroy the town and attacked the police. Then people stared confused until someone broke the shock by screaming. Then everyone ran.

Things haven't been that great since that day. Monster attacks are always a hassle and my uncle disappeared. (He took the robot with him. Which was a drag, the robot could cook.) School had not closed down, and people are in a little bit of a panic since their saviors had changed sides and decided to start destroying the town. The monster division was doing it's best to protect the town, but they just weren't enough to take down a ranger. Life on a whole at Angel Grove was pretty scary.

Which brings me to this next random point, but bare with me it leads into the current situation.

People have always told me to honest with my emotions. This advice, and god knows how many other life lessons, has been beaten into my head by my uncle and his... diverse group of friends. It's good advice, and something that I try to follow. Now that we're cleared that up I can explain what's happening.

I, Jaden Park, am very angry. No, angry wasn't the word I'm was looking for. I'd think of a proper word for the emotion I'm was feeling but I was a little more occupied with fighting off the robots that had come out of nowhere and started attacking people. This wasn't exactly an new occurrence, but it wasn't something I wanted to witness. The only thing redeeming about what was happening was that they didn't have a ranger backing them up.

I had done a pretty good job of fighting them until everyone that was sane had run away, but then the robots had the exits blocked off and I wasn't exactly strong enough to break metal with my bare hands. Nor was I willing to try.

Actually I couldn't really call what I was doing, fighting. I mean, I have some martial arts training thanks to my uncle owning a dojo, but I don't think that training was trying to prepare me to fight robots.

"Okay, so maybe insulting Alpha 6 was a little mean but that doesn't mean he had to call his goon squad on me. But you have to admit, you guys aren't exactly Michaelangelo David yourself." I had to dodge a metal fist and duck a sword after that quip. Okay, so maybe I should stop insulting the robots, that might help me survive this mess.

Before I could give an apology I found myself frozen. I couldn't move a single muscle. "Well don't that beat all..." I watched as the robots approached me and raised their weapons up to strike me down. Suddenly a bright light erupted all around me and I felt a crushing sensation along with vertigo. I'll tell you, that's not a pleasant feeling. So I blacked out.

-

"...-nit...-my! Tho-... -ou... fixed...-t"

I groaned as I re-entered the world of the living.

"...-ine, ...-ee. He's re-...-ing consciousness."

I slowly tried to open my eyes. I winced at the bright lights that stabbed into my eyes. Letting my eyes adjust to the new area I saw several people surrounding me, "Uncle Adam!" and next to him, "Uncle Rocky, Aunt Aisha?!" and next to them, "And... people I don't know."

My uncle sighed, while the rest of the group started laughing. I blushed as I tried to push myself onto my feet. My uncle gently pushed me back down. "Take it easy. We're not sure what happened, but the teleporter seemed to take a lot out of you."

I blinked, "Teleporter?" I looked around me. All I could see was hi-tech equipment. I was in some sort of circular room. There were a lot of computers and other stuff that looked rather expensive, as well as plenty of screens that displayed the town. Along one of the walls were several glass tubes. In them were uniforms, Power Ranger uniforms. Each tube cycled through the different colors.

I pushed myself to my feet and walked to the first tube. My hand brushed against each tube as I walked past.

Mighty Morphin' Rangers

Zeo Rangers

Turbo Rangers

Space Rangers

Lost Galaxy

They had them all. Even those Samurai Rangers that showed up in Japan a little awhile ago. "This is..."

"The Power Chamber." I turned around to face my uncle and the others. A man with short spiky hair and glasses that was dressed in black (like his uncle Adam always did. Actually they all were color coded.) step forward. "This was the base of the Power Rangers until it was destroyed. We rebuilt it just in case."

"Why am I here?" Don't get me wrong, it was pretty awesome to be here, and not you know, dieing from fighting robots, but you don't get teleported to the Power Rangers secret base for nothing. "Actually, why are you guys here in the first place."

Everyone started to crack up from that comment. I looked rather confused until one of the reds spoke up, "Geez, Mr. Park, I thought that you said he was smart." He grunted as the girl in yellow next to him elbowed him in the stomach.

Uncle Adam smiled, "Everyone here was a former Power Ranger."

I pointed at my uncle, "W-wha? Every- Even you?"

I couldn't imagine my uncle as a Power Ranger... actually now that I think about it. It makes some sense. The strange group of friends, the maturity, Alpha 6... "Why didn't I see it?" I slapped my hand to my forehead.

There was a lot of laughter at that comment.

Adam was still smiling, "Yea, it's a bit to take in." The smile slid off his face and a serious look took it's place. All of my questions and curiosity was replaced with attention and worry. When my uncle was serious, it was always something big. "We brought you here because of the recent events that have taken place in Angel Grove."

"The Dark Rangers." I said the name that the media had given the rangers attacking Angel Grove.

He nodded, "A few months ago Jason Scott the original Red Ranger," he pointed out one of the men dressed in red, "reported that someone had stolen his Power Coin, which was what allowed the original rangers morph. Over a few weeks the rest of the Power Coins, including mine were also stolen."

I frowned, "Well didn't the original rangers lose their powers." That was what everyone believed was the reason for their change in uniform.

The man in black from before took over, god I know I've seen this guy before. "That's true. The original Power Coins were damaged beyond use. That was until the Sentinal Knight fixed Adam's Power Coin. Using that as a basis, we fixed the rest of them in case they were needed again."

"Okay... That's bad, but that doesn't explain why I'm here." Where were they going with this?

The man smiled, "Whoever stole the power coins took the five original coins. But he didn't get all of them." He pulled out a small golden coin that had a footprint on it. "This was my first Power Coin. Using this we're hoping that you'll become the Green Ranger and fight the Dark Rangers."

"Woah, woah, wait a second. You can't be asking me to be a Power Ranger. You've got to be joking." They couldn't just drop this on me. "There are other rangers aren't there. Not to mention other people that can use that Power Coin." I was babbling, but could you blame me. This wasn't something that you just accept.

The guy from before, Tommy, that was his name. He had visited the dojo a few times, shook his head. "We wouldn't have asked you if we didn't think you were the best choice." Seeing my spectical look he continued, "You're one of the few that can use the Power Coin in the first place. Adam has also told me that you're an excellent martial artist, and seeing you protect those people earlier only made us sure that it had to be you."

I just backed up, "No, no, nononono, no. You don't understand I'm-" I stopped as a hand rested itself on my shoulder. Looking back I saw my uncle smiling encouragingly at me.

"We understand. We've all felt that way about being rangers." His face was serious again, "I hate to say it, we don't really have a choice. There are only a few rangers that have their powers left, and not all of them can be here to fight. It has to be you."

I stared at my uncle, trying to swallow what he just told me. I took a deep breathe and tried to calm down. It didn't help too much, but I could understand what he was trying to tell me. I took a shakey step forward and took the golden coin that Tommy held out. I could feel something, I'm not sure what flow out from the coin and fill me with some confidence. This was right, this was something I was supposed to do. "Okay... I guess you have a Green Ranger."

The proud smile on my uncle's face told me I made the right choice.

* * *

_Author's note: Damnit, I have that title up, but the Dragonzord doesn't actually make an appearance in this. Oh well, I couldn't think of a chapter title._

_So this is the prologue of a story I had thought up. I had originally thought up the idea of evil rangers stealing a ranger power source after watching Once a Ranger. The idea that some of the lost power sources were restored just seemed too good an idea to pass up. I didn't actually get this down on paper until I learned that ABC was running a revised version of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. I decided to use the original ranger powers instead of the Dino Rangers as I planned._

_It was then that I designed Jaden Park. A nephew of Adam Park and the new Mighty Morphing Green Ranger._

_I had a lot of idea thought out for this story. Normally, there is one ex-evil ranger and the entire team bring him into the fold and help him over his guilt. Here Jaden is going to work with the ex-Dark Rangers and try to help them all past their former evil deeds. The story of how Jaden defeats them and brings them to the side of good is another story that I'm planning._

_I planned Jaden as being an outsider. He's that's never fully accepted by the main group. This is going to present itself even more with the beginning of the story and when the White Ranger comes in and just seems to click with the group. Jaden feels angry and slightly betrayed that they accept him so quickly but still feel some distrust with him. The strongest shape is a triangle. In my story there are seven rangers. Red, Yellow, and Black, find themselves drawn together like Blue, Pink, and White confine with each other. Jaden just doesn't fit._

_We find the rangers going through all sorts of problems. They'll all have their own guilt about the past. The rangers will all have their own ways of dealing with their past, and Jaden tries to keep them all together while blaming himself for not turning them earlier._

_Several Rangers make cameos. Adam Park being the most promenient as Jaden is living with him, but several other rangers show up._

_Actually one idea I had was having a Ex-Evil Ranger meeting. Headed by the original Evil Ranger, Tommy Oliver._

_So if you want to see this story up and running leave a review. No seriously, if I don't get at least a few reviews, this thing is probably not going to get past chapter 1._

_HeroSlayer_


	2. Chapter 1: Meet the Team

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, or any characters that are a part of the Power Rangers franchise. I did create Jaden Park and the rest of the Neo Rangers though.**

**A New Shade of Ranger **

**Chapter one- Meet the Team... or Skill Level is Not Always Equal.**

* * *

Life hits you fast sometimes. Things change, sometimes the changes are slow and other times they are fast. Yet no matter what happens people either try to resist the change or embrace it. There can't be any middle ground.

I, Jaden Park am no exception. When I first became a Power Ranger I tried as hard as I could to live a normal life. I tried so hard to balance my social life and fighting off the Dark Rangers that it burned me out.

It never really hit me that I was a Power Ranger until I realized the whole city was screwed over if I was too tired to fight. It wasn't exactly fun to see the Dark Rangers destroy buildings and hurt people when you can barely gather the energy to turn on the TV.

Just like that, I was committed to being a Power Ranger, and likewise I was committed to fighting the Dark Rangers and their master Bellum. It was never my intention to convert them or try to end this peacefully. They were committing a crime, so they needed to be punished.

So it really isn't that unexpected that I have no idea what to do now that the Dark Rangers are on my side.

I know that I can't just ignore them, or hate them. They are fellow Power Rangers and potential allies now that Bellum is sending monsters since he didn't have control of rangers anymore. They also would need help getting over what my uncle said was "Oliver Syndrome" or more simply guilt over being an evil ranger.

Or was "Oliver Syndrome" the one where you feel the need to stay a Power Ranger over and over again. I couldn't really remember which it was. Jason was the one that told me that and he was _slightly_ drunk.

Actually, you all are probably looking at me and asking what the hell is he talking about. Sorry 'bout that, I like to ramble sometimes. I'll give you a run down of what happened. I don't really feel like telling the story in detail at this point.

About a year ago, the Dark General Bellum declared war on the Power Rangers for denying him his vengeance on Zordon and turning his allies against him. So he declared he would destroy Earth and turn its heroes against it.

He said that he would start with Angel Grove, home of the Original Power Rangers. (I wondered then why he didn't go after the Space Rangers?)

My uncle (Adam Park if I haven't told you) had his Power Coin fixed by some knight dude and chose to fix the others so they could fight off Bellum. Not a bad idea, but Bellum had planned for that. He stole the Power Coins and used them to make his own six evil Power Rangers, or Dark Rangers for short. They reeked havoc undisturbed until another Ranger came and started to fight back.

There were six stolen Power Coins, the stolen ones were:

The Red Power Coin, which drew power from the Tyrannosaurus

The Black Power Coin, which held power from the Mastodon

The Yellow Power Coin, which was the Saber Tooth Tiger

The Blue Power Coin, which was matched with the Triceratops

And finally the Pink Power Coin, which got the Pterodactyl

It turns out that there was one other Power Coin. The original White Ranger (who depending on who you ask is the greatest ranger ever, or so I'm told) had originally used a different Power Coin; one that my uncle and his friends had never bothered to fix, until the other one w**as** stolen of course.

The Green Power Coin that had the Dragonzord as its partner.

It was using this Power Coin that I reluctantly became the Green Ranger. Well it was more like, you become the Green Ranger or everyone dies, but it was still my choice... sorta.

So I battled the Dark Rangers in various ways,

From one-on-one duels

_"Wow... I kinda expected you to bring Droids."_

_"And why's that?"_

_"You're evil; I thought your version of a fair fight was to throw Droids at me until I was tired then finish me off. Now I kinda feel bad for bringing back up."_

To Zord battles

_"Wait, the Dragonzord has a cockpit. Then why the hell am I learning how to play this flute sword thing?! They could just step on me for God's sake!"_

And even a few all out brawls

"_Wait... did you reflect my attack into my allies just by playing your dagger?"_

_"Yeah. Apparently that's what the Dragon Shield does."_

_"Dragon Shield?"_

_"This vest thing I have. What did you think it was only for decoration?"_

_"Why don't we have armor like that?"_

_"I dunno. I guess it's because I'm the Green Ranger, I'm just awesome like that"_

But after almost a year of fighting off the Dark Rangers I had done what I thought was impossible (which most of the former rangers told me would happen.) I had broken whatever hold Bellum had on the Dark Rangers, and escaped with all but one in tow.

That was just a couple of days ago. I had taken a few days off to recover from my injuries and to let the Dark Rangers, I mean the Neo Rangers, (I need to think of a better name than that... stupid Alpha 6) think about what had happened.

I had assumed from the history of ex-evil rangers joining forces with the main team that they would help me fight off Bellum. I was kinda wrong.

-

Wade Williams was an athlete, plain and simple. He was part of the Football team and during the off season he did Long Jump for track. He wasn't the star of the football team, but he was a shoe in for a varsity starter spot next year. He was also the newest Red Ranger.

I hadn't really talked to him too much. We've spoken to each other a few times in gym class when we're put on the same team, but that was only a quick word about strategy or complaint about the teacher. I had no idea how to brush the subject of "You were just a Dark Ranger. I want you to help me fight the guy that's threatening the world."

Uncle Adam should be doing this not me. I don't even think that we should be asking them to do this.

Gym was my last period class. After changing back into their normal clothes most of the guys would stand around the door and chat, some of them slipping out early from being impatient.

It was because of this that I was able to talk to Wade, or more like he pulled me back from the door into a corner of the locker room to talk.

"What's the plan?"

I blinked, "What?"

He slapped his hand to his face, "Ranger stuff." He hissed, "What are we going to do about Bellum?"

My eyes widen in recognition before I shushed him. "Careful, someone could hear you."

He rolled his eyes, "We're whispering and everyone's at the door. No one's going to hear us." He looked at me expectantly.

I frowned but complied, "I was going to tell everyone to meet me at the Dojo tomorrow. I can tell Kevin, but do you think that you can tell the others?" Of the Dark Rangers, I mean Neo Rangers; the only one that I talked to regularly was Kevin, the Black Dar- Neo Ranger.

It was kinda a sore point for me. He was right in front of me and I didn't notice that he was a Dark Ranger until last week.

He nodded, "I can do that."

I told him where the Dojo was and when the meeting was and bailed out with an excuse about some paper I had to write. I didn't like the idea of being around any of them. It's hard to believe that a few days ago we were trying to kill each other. And not to jinx myself or anything, I didn't think things like that faded that easily. But magic was not my forte, so I hoped I was wrong.

-

_A few days later_

The backroom of the Dojo was my base of operations. I know that I had access to the Power Chamber, but I never liked being there. It usually meant other rangers wanted to talk, and that usually meant bad news.

The Black Frog Dojo (Before learning about Uncle Adam's ranger history, I always wondered why he chose that name) was a pretty big place. His uncle was pretty well known in the martial arts world, so we had plenty of students. I taught a class or two when an employee calls in sick like today.

It was the day of the meeting and I was cleaning up after the last class when I saw them walk in. Five teenagers that were each wearing a different color. I sighed; it was easy for me to tell who they were. God it was kinda annoying to have that compulsion to wear green.

I waved them in and lead them to the backroom of the Dojo.

I had brought out some chairs for us to sit on and waited. An uneasy silence fell on all of us. I took the time to take a good look at them, and tried to read the mood.

Wade was sitting in the center and was leaning forward with his hands clasped together, occasionally turning to say something to one of the others. I could tell that he wanted this over with as so as possible.

Kevin was looking at some of the wall scrolls that were on the walls. He was looking at anything other than me. He wasn't over the whole 'I tried to kill my friend' thing yet. Unfortunately this was where my knowledge of their names ended. I didn't really pay attention when we first introduced ourselves. So I'm going to go by color here.

There was a boy dressed in blue sitting at one of the ends. He was fidgeting and staring at me expectantly.

The girl in pink was smiling and chatting with the girl next to her.

The other girl was in yellow (what was with rangers wearing their colors anyways? I couldn't leave the house without some kind of green showing) was listening to the girl in pink, but I could tell that she was rather nervous about being here.

After a bit of waiting Wade was the first on to break the silence, "Okay we're here, now what?"

I scratched the back of my head "I really don't know. I guess I start from the beginning." The group fell silent as I took a breath and started my little speech.

"Years ago the Power Rangers were created by an intergalactic being named Zordon to battle Rita Repulsa." I closed my eyes and tilted my head up towards the ceiling as I spoke this, recalling the same speech that I myself was told months ago. "Their battle went on for years, and it eventually became an arms race between the Rangers and Rita. Power sources came and went, and different rangers left their post when a replacement was found." I opened my eyes and looked at all of them. "But you already know this."

They all nodded, "Well yea, everyone in Angel Grove knows about the Power Rangers," Kevin spoke up. "They went from dinosaurs to mythical animals and other stuff when the previous ones were destroyed."

I nodded and turned my gaze back to the ceiling, "Eventually Zordon died or rather he sacrificed himself, but a good amount of evil was destroyed by the resulting energy wave created by his death."

A girl in pink nodded, "I remember that. There were monster attacking everywhere when suddenly there was this weird flash of light and all the monster turned to sand." She blinked as she realized something, "Hey wait, how come Bellum wasn't destroyed by that wave thingie?"

I smiled; the rest of the rangers seemed to want to ask that same question, "Unfortunately a good amount of evil had survived the wave through different means. Bellum, a past enemy of Zordon's was one of them. There have been several attempts at destroying Earth by different people. Bellum's reason is rather petty. Zordon was killed by a Power Ranger, and the largest concentration of Power Rangers is earth."

Wade leaped to his feet and shouted, "What?! Why don't we just give him the guy how killed Zordon and let them fight or something? Why should we be brought into this?"

I frowned, "Not an option. Bellum was trapped in an alternate dimension for millennium after millennium. He's kinda psychotic and he's pretty set on destroying the earth." Wade fell back into his seat after I said that.

A quiet voice came from my left "Shouldn't the Space Rangers be fighting him?" The boy in blue was the one that spoke up.

Sighing, I leaned onto the arm rest of my chair with my head resting on my fist. "They were originally going to be the ones to fight him, especially when he announced that his first target was Angel Grove. But after Bellum stole the Power Coins it became a much larger problem."

The girl in pink blinked, "Why's that?"

I nodded towards them, "Because of you guys." They all were startled by that news, "Bellum was able to multi task by using the Dark Rangers to take over Angel Grove, and keep the other Rangers busy with monsters. Now that Angel Grove has a full team of Rangers, he'll probably start focusing on here."

Kevin looked thoughtful, "Isn't that better? I mean, we have a full team of rangers here. We can handle anything Bellum throws at us."

The boy in blue shook his head, "So do the Space Rangers. They have more experience with this kind of thing also. The only thing that we have that they don't is Zords." He blinked, "Do they had Zords?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. I know theirs were destroyed, but I'm not sure if the Astro-Megaship MK. II is Megazord capable like the original one was."

Yellow girl spoke up, "Wait a second. You guys keep saying 'we'. I don't remember signing up for any of this."

I stared at her intently. She seemed scared of the possibility of fighting, "I don't either. And if things go well you won't be fighting too much." They all were surprised by that.

"What do you mean?!" Wade shouted. "I thought the whole point of us coming here was to learn how to fight these things off." He wasn't the only one angry. Kevin, the boy in black and the girl in pink both were all glaring at me. The boy in blue seemed surprised but that's about it. The girl in yellow looked relieved.

I winced at how loud Wade had shouted before glaring at Wade and shot right back, "I mean that you guys'll only fight when I can't do it!"

"That'll be more often than you think." A new speaker entered the conversation.

I turned to face the newest voice. Standing there was an Asian male dressed in black, my uncle, Adam Park. I scowled, "I'll be fine. I'm stronger than them, and I have a Zord that's capable of defeating monsters. There is no reason for them to fight right now."

"Uh... Who's that?" I blinked and turned to face the others. The girl in pink was the one who had spoken up, though they all looked rather confused. Right, they don't know my uncle. It was kinda new to meet people that didn't recognize him. He was pretty well known around Angel Grove.

My uncle smiled softly, "Adam Park. I'm Jaden's uncle and I was the second Black Power Ranger." The group looked at him in awe. I vaguely realized that this was one of their heroes, but I was a little more focused on my argument.

"And Green Zeo and the first Green Turbo." I finished for him. "You always forget to mention that."

He nodded, "We'll save the Ranger history for later." I raised an eyebrow. Uncle Adam saw my look and explained, "Monster attack at the park."

Nodding, I pulled out my morpher and was almost to the door when a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. Looking back I saw it was my uncle. "Take them with you." He gestured to the others.

I groaned, "Seriously?" He nodded, "But, they don't remember how to fight." It was true. They didn't remember most of the time that they were evil. Oddly enough, school work was the only exception.

My uncle shrugged, "Most rangers learned through experience." I couldn't think of a counter argument for that.

"Wait a second!" It was the girl in yellow again, "I don't want to fight. I don't want anything to do with this."

I shot a pleading look at my uncle only for him to shake his head. I sighed and pressed my palm to my face.

To my luck the girl in pink spoke up. "Come on Jackie, it'll be fine. You heard Jaden; he can probably take care of it himself." She stood up and started to drag Jackie out the door despite her protests. The rest of the Rangers thankfully followed without any protest.

I sighed, "This is not going to end well."

-

There were lots of Droids (the standard mooks of Bellum's) running around, destroying trees and messing with civilians by the time we got to the park.

They were about the size of an average human. They're humanoid in basic appearance with purple-colored armored plating. A single screen was used for visual on their purple helmets. Most of them were unarmed, but I've seen some with blasters for arms and others with annoying things like arm blades or that one that had a rocket launcher.

Unfortunately, there were several of the arm blaster Droids, you know, we really need a name for these things. Let's call them Assault Droids, so the Assault Droids along with the Standard Droids were terrorizing the park while being lead by what looked like a large chicken robot. Normally I would morph and fight them off, but there was a _small _problem.

"Do they have guns? I don't remember these things having guns." Miss Yellow was looking at the Assault Droids with a little fear.

"Mine had guns. It kinda went with my Power Bow. They even had the same color scheme." Pinkie was still rather upbeat about this.

"I think I had a few, but most of mine had swords. Wait, so yours had pink guns?" Wade was the next to speak.

My colleagues didn't seem to realize how dangerous these things were.

I pressed my hand to my face, "Guys, evil minions destroying the town. We're supposed to, you know, stop them."

Most of them had the decency to look embarrassed. I groaned, "Just... just morph."

We all pulled out our morphers as I called out the start up phrase. "It's Morphin' Ti-"

"Wait!" I faulted and looked back. It was Pinkie again. "What order do we go in?"

I stared at her. To my horror Wade looked curious. "She's got a point, there should be a certain order to this shouldn't there." Wade said.

Pinkie tilted her head, "Yeah, but how do we decide who goes first."

Jackie looked rather sheepish, "I don't remember what we're supposed to do when we morph."

I twitched, "Look hold your morpher in front of you and shout out the words that come to mind." They all looked at me in disbelief. "Trust me, and just go in the order you feel you're supposed to be."

I took a deep breathe and held my morpher in front of me again. The group followed, if a bit reluctantly. "It's Morphin' Time! _Dragonzord!_" I gritted my teeth as the familiar power burned through my body as I morphed.

Vaguely, I could hear the rest of the rangers call out their own phrases.

_"Mastodon!" "Pterodactyl!" "Triceratops!" "Saber-Toothed Tiger!" "Tyrannosaurus!"_

"Woah, what a rush!" I frowned. I expected it, but I guess their morph was a bit different than mine. "Right, you guys take care of the Droids, I'll take care of the overgrown chicken."

"Hey! I take offense to that. I'm a turkey!" I blinked, the Droids had taken the time where we bickered and morphed to surround us. The giant turkey robot was there too.

"Well don't that beat all. They're getting smarter about this."

"Kekekeke, I was sent by the great General Bellum to destroy you. If you surrender the Power Coins I'll make your end quick and painful."

"Um..." Blue Boy shifted uncomfortably, "Shouldn't that be quick and painless?"

Robot Turkey laughed "Kekekeke, of course not! You're going to die. Of course it's going to be painful."

I rolled my eyes under my helmet and pulled out my Dragon Dagger. "Rangers take care of the Droids." It would be nice to have a fight and not worry about the Droids piling on top of me.

"Right!" "Got it!" "Roger!" "ok." "Cool!"

I ignored the fight behind me as I charged the Robo-Turkey. I managed to slash the thing a few times with my Dragon Dagger before it launched a bunch of feathers that began to swarm me. They came from every angle at different speeds. I tried to dance around them, but quite a few managed to strike me. Cutting through a few of them I managed to back off and escape the cage of feathers.

"Kekeke, what's wrong. I thought you'd be stronger than this." The Robo-Turkey's left over feathers all stopped moving and began to fire lasers at me.

"Wrong move." I raised the Dragon Dagger to my mouth and played it.

"What is that supposed to-" The lasers bounced off my Dragon Shield and reflected back at him. "Argh!"

I shifted the tune I was playing and the Dragon Dagger shot out a bolt of energy that ripped through the ground in front of it knocking off it's feet. I made my way over to the robot bird and raised the Dagger. "Game over!" Before I could take the last blow, a blast of energy caught me in the side and threw me away.

"Sorry!" I groaned and looked up from where I had landed. A Droid had stolen the Power Axe from the Black Ranger and used it's cannon mode to fire at me.

"Kekeke, even when they are on your side the Rangers can't help but hinder you." I groaned. I really wasn't in the mood for gloating.

I noticed that I had lost my weapon when I was sent flying. That wasn't good. I couldn't finish this without my dagger. Looking around I saw it lodged in a tree a little bit away.

"Yeah, it's my luck to have allies like this. On the other hand, if all the monsters are as incompetent as you it'd be no fun if I can beat you so easily." I've actually gotten quite good at biting comments. The monster obviously didn't like being insulted as it started charging that feather laser attack again.

"Beat this!"

I dodge as many of the lasers as I could as I made my way to the tree. Ripping the weapon out of the tree I used the dagger to deflect some of the lasers before rolling behind the tree for some cover.

"That's it. I'm asking for a Blade Blaster." It was annoying only having a dagger as a weapon. I tried to think of a way out of this. I had to wait awhile before I could use my Dragon Shield again and he had me pinned down with the lasers. Close combat was out since he would just swarm me with feathers again. "Ah screw it." Charging the Dragon Dagger with energy I came out from behind the tree and threw it at the monster.

"Gah!" The dagger lodged itself in the robot bird's chest. Now that it's concentration was lost, the feathers stopped firing. I charged forward and leaped into the air. "Wait, what are you doing?" I side kicked the dagger sending it clean through the monster. Flipping over the monster I picked up my weapon as the monster exploded defeated.

"Wait... why did it blow up?" Ignoring the unanswered question I turned to the other battle. I stared at the chaos that was ensuing.

The Red, and Pink Ranger were doing rather well. The Red Ranger was fighting a few Droids, while the Pink Ranger was shooting anything near him with her blaster. Then it was down hill from there.

The Black Ranger had lost both his Blade Blaster and Power Axe and was trying to get them back from the Droids that had stolen them. The Blue Ranger was struggling as a few Droids were carrying him away and the Yellow Ranger was hiding behind a tree.

I groaned before charging into the fold, "This is going to be a long battle."


	3. Chapter 2: One Step Forward

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, or any characters that are a part of the Power Rangers franchise. I did create Jaden Park and the rest of the Neo Rangers though.

**A New Shade of Ranger**

**Chapter 2- Jaden: One Step Forward... or Lessons Learned**

**

* * *

**

_Flashback_

_I ran._

_I ran as fast as I could._

_I couldn't do this anymore. There had to be someone else._

_____I was the good guy, _I had fought off the Dark Rangers. 

_And what did I have to show for it?_

_The people I swore I would protect were gone._

_The city I was to protect was slowly falling apart._

_I had all this power and I can't even control it._

_I had all this potential and I squandered it._

_Maybe, if I had practiced, maybe if I hadn't wasted all that energy it would have been different._

_Maybe those people would still be here._

_But maybes didn't change what had happened._

_I didn't know what to do anymore._

_So I ran._

_End Flashback_

_-_

I don't think that any high schooler enjoyed mornings. You had to think of the homework that you forgot to do, and decide if that extra five minutes were worth running full speed to your bus stop to avoid having to run to school.

Mornings were especially bad for me after I became the Green Ranger. Waking up and trying remember if that bruise was from the monster or from a cannon blast from the Black Ranger's Power Axe was never fun.

I had hoped that now that the Neo Rangers were on my side I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. It turns out that Kevin's aim is bad enough to still shoot me instead of the monster, so I still can't remember if that particular bruise was from the Power Axe or from the monster.

Today was only different in the fact that instead of wonder where my injuries came from. I was wondering what Zord had stepped on my body. Everything hurt, my body seemed to be in pain with the simple process of me being alive. It was kinda weird. Normally my Ranger healing made sure that I was okay, and I was pretty used to waking up sore from a battle.

I tried to push myself onto the side of the bed and sit up. My arm didn't have enough strength to support my body so it buckled and I fell to the floor with crash. I laid there on the floor and tried to remember how I had ended up in such bad shape.

I honestly couldn't really remember what it was. What I did remember was that it _did _have something to do with the other Rangers. Then it all came back to me. I groaned as I remembered the train wreck that was yesterday's battle.

I gathered my strength and pushed myself to my feet. I looked out my window and saw only grey clouds in the sky. I sighed, it looked like it was going to be a bad day.

---

I was right. Mornings were evil. I knew what evil looked like after fighting it so long and this morning was definately evil.

Standing in front of him was the Pink Ranger. And when I say Pink Ranger, I mean, Pink Ranger in full uniform. Spandex and everything.

God I hate mornings.

I had managed to go through my morning routine with a little trouble, but I was used to the injuries so it wasn't too much of a problem. It was thankfully the weekend, so I didn't have to go to school. After toasting a bagel to eat I looked around for any sign of my uncle. Not seeing him anywhere I called the Dojo and asked Alpha 6 if he knew where he was. Turns out he was visiting some old friends. The Dojo was closed and everything, so I didn't have to sub as an instructor.

Switching on some music I was ready to finally have a nice day of rest and relaxation. Then the doorbell rang.

I twitched, "Don't answer it. It's probably the mail man or something, it's not important."

The ringing continued, and started to pick up in pace.

"...damnit..." I muttered. Walking up to the door I sighed before opening it. "Hello can I hel- What the hell!?" I was pushed back inside and heard the door slam. Taking a step back I glared at the person who pushed me only blink as I saw a pink helmet. "Chloe? What are- Did you come here morphed?!" I freaked out. There standing in my living room was a fully morphed rather nervous Pink Ranger. What was she thinking?!

Chloe nodded and grabbed my arm "Oh right. I didn't have time to power down but we need help and Chris said to get you but none of us could remember how the communicators work so I ran here as fast as I could." She started to drag me to the door. "There's a monster attack, and we're losing and we're not sure what we're supposed to do and we seriously need the Green Ranger." Chloe's voice was pretty frantic as she pulled me out the door.

I groaned and pulled out my morpher on the way out. "You've got to be kidding me..."

---

Chloe was right, they did need the Green Ranger.

Wade was struggling against some sort of mole-pig thing wielding a sword, while Kevin and Chris were trying to hold off the various Droids it had summoned. They both were cornered and keeping the Droids away with blaster fire, but there were too many Droids and they were slowly losing ground. Wade was trying to cut through the monster to help, but he just couldn't get a clean hit in.

"Wow... they're doing better than before."

I stopped and stared at the Pink Ranger next to me. I pointed at the battle, "That's better?"

She nodded and pulled out her Power Bow. "Yep." And with that she fired a few arrows at the Droids and ran to bail out the Black and Blue Ranger.

I sighed and ran over to help Wade with the monster. I pulled out my Dragon Dagger and blocked a sword strike. "Need a hand?"

Wade slashed but the monster caught the Power Sword barehanded and threw him back, "Naw," He said sarcastically and grunted as another of his slashes was blocked, "I think I got this."

"Really now? Cause the other Rangers need help too..." I trailed off as I ducked as the sword swung through the area where my head used to be.

"I'm sure they can take care of themselves." Wade quickly said. He lashed out with his Power Sword again only for it to be blocked by the monster's sword.

I grinned and took the opening to apply my Dragon Dagger to the mole-pig's hide. "Well if you insist, I can stay here for a while. I mean I could use the leather to make a bag or something. Maybe not. I don't think anyone would want a bag with this guy's ugly mug on it."

Mr. Mole-Pig didn't seem to like to be ignored, or insulted. "I'll kill you!"

"Phh, good luck with that."

We traded blows with the monster, with both me and Wade gaining the upper hand. "Come on porker, you've got to have some special power."

Mole-Pig didn't seemed to like that. "You damn Rangers are starting to annoy me!"

I clashed my dagger against the monster's sword and tried to push him back. Not my best idea, his heavier weapon was pressing me back, "Only starting. Damn I'll need to brush up on my smart ass comments." I quipped.

Wade was staring at me, "Do you always do this?" He tried to dodge a sword swing, but it clipped him in the shoulder. He winced as sparks flew from the slash.

I pressed the attack against the monster, buying Wade some time, "Can't help it. I think it's tradition."

I parry the monster's sword and knee the thing in the gut. Wade follows up and lays his sword against the thing's neck.

"Give up!" He yelled. I blink, give up? Was he serious? What kind of evil monster actually surrenders?

"Argh! Never!" The monster swung his sword catching both of us in the chest and sending us flying in a spray of sparks. "I will bury all of you!"

"Frick..." I pushed myself back up and charged the monster. Unfortunately it seemed while this monster didn't have any remarkable powers it did have a brain. He called more Droids to seperate me and Wade before turning it's attention back to me.

I dodged another concrete smashing slash as it used it's longer and heavier weapon to keep me on the defensive. "Wow, Porky, I didn't know that Bellum was actually teaching his monsters tactics." Luckily for me, I was faster than the monster and I could parry or dodge the wide attacks.

"Grr! Stop dodging!"

"Yeah, like that's going to happen." I jumped over a low swing and slashed him again in the chest. "I'm kinda attached to all my body parts, so no dice."

"Argh! Then let's see you dodge this!" Mole-Pig dropped his sword and then dove into the ground next to him. The earth rippled, and the monster sunk into the ground like it was water.

I stared at the seemingly undisturbed ground, "Well don't that beat all. He does have an abilitiy." The ground under me exploded as Mole-Pig erupted from the ground and slammed into me. I took a wild swing at him, but he just dove back into the ground. "Aww, nuts. I see where this is going."

WHAM!

"Ow!"

BAFF!

"Ugh!"

CRUNCH!

"Damnit!"

Mole-Pig just kept popping out of the ground and hitting me before jumping back in. I couldn't get a hit in.

The last hit had thrown me off my feet. I groaned from my place on the floor. The monster slowly rose above the ground and laughed, "Is this all the Power Rangers can do? My master will have no problem destroying all of you then."

I struggled to my feet and pointed my dagger at him. "Please, I've only begun to fight." It was the moment after those words left my mouth that my powers as the Green Ranger decided to stop working, undoing my morph. I blinked and looked down at my hands. They were my everyday hands, no power suit, no gloves, but strangely enough the Dragon Dagger was still in my hand. "Okay, so I guess I _am _done fighting."

Mole-Pig laughed and started to approach me, sword raised to strike. I backed away while holding the dagger in front of me. I suddenly felt really vulnerable without my Ranger powers.

"Jaden move!"

"Huh?" Turning around I saw all five rangers_ 'when did Jackie get here?'_ holding the Power Blaster. "oh..." I dove out of the way at the last second as a orb of energy shot by and crashed into Mole-Pig. I covered my head as an explosion ripped through the air. As I uncovered my head and looked around I saw a pile of ash that was next to the sword that the monster used.

I sighed in relief and let my body relax. "Idiot." I muttered to myself. I had let my guard down and nearly payed for it. I looked up as a shadow loomed over me and saw a gloved hand. I blinked and looked up to see the Pink Ranger standing over me.

"You okay down there?" I could hear her trying to keep back her laughter.

I rolled my eyes, "Of course. I just love nearly getting incinerated by you guys. It's a regular pass time." I heard a gasp and saw Chloe flinch.

I winced,_ 'Too soon?'_ Pushing myself back to my feet I forced a grin. "Well guys we've survived another fight. So I guess we can go home."

RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE

It was almost exactly after I said those words that an earthquake shook the ground and a large shadow covered all of us. I twitched as all the Rangers were staring at what was behind me, or rather they were staring _up _at what was behind me. "The monster grew, didn't it?" They all nodded.

The Mole-Pig, now the size of a (what was the name, Kaiju?), laughed "HAHAHA, Now I will crush you puny Rangers once and for all!"

I sighed and flicked on my communicator. "Alpha, could you send the Zords."

"They're already on there way Jaden." I smiled, trust Alpha to stay on top of things. Well, at least when he wasn't freaking out. But he doesn't do that as much as he used to.

"Thanks Alpha." I turned to the five Rangers, who were still staring at the monster. I clapped my hands, "Alright, are you guys ready for your first Zord battle?"

Jackie pointed at the giant Mole-Pig. "You want us to fight that. Are you crazy?!"

I smirked and held out my hand with all five fingers extended. I flicked each finger closed in a count down, 4, 3, 2, 1...

The five Dino Zords made their good guy debut. I grinned as the Rangers stared at their vehicles. I recall my own reaction when I first saw the DragonZord.

_I gapped as the giant Zord erupted out of the bay. "Damn... I get mecha Gojira as my Zord."_

_"It's not Godzilla!" I winced as someone yelled at me through my communicator. "I mean, this is the Dragonzord. You can control it with the Dragon Dagger."_

I shook my head and shoved the memory to the back of my head. Reminiscing could come later. "I trust that you guys can tell which Zord is yours."

Each of the Rangers nodded and jumped into their respective Zord and the battle was underway. I watched as each of the Zords attacked the monster only to be thrown back or knocked aside.

"Oh that's gonna leave a mark." The Saber-Tooth Tiger Zord had tried blind siding the monster only to be caught by twin fire blasts made from the Triceratops. The Tyrannosaurus tried to avenge it's fallen comrade but was batted aside by the monster's sword. The Pterodactyl Zord flew around the monster and gathered it's attention by blasting it with it's laser cannons. The Mastodon Zord took the chance and shot a blast of frozen air at the monster's legs freezing it in place.

"What?!" The monster swung his sword at the Mastodon, but Kevin wisely drew back in time to dodge the swing. "Grr! Come back here and let me destroy you!"

I shook my head. "This is taking too long. Guys bring them together." I briefly wondered if I should call the Dragonzord, but threw the idea aside. The Megazord would be enough to take out this thing.

I watched as the five Dino Zords combined into the Megazord Tank Mode. The combined Zord opened fire on the monster. It tried to block the shots with it's sword but the more powerful shots eventually cracked the blade and then outright destroyed it.

The monster stared at the shattered remains of it's weapon, "Impossible!"

The Megazord Tank mode fired one last full powered shot that destroyed the monster. I sighed in relief when the monster was gone. I knew they could win, but I was glad that the battle had gone as well as it did. I was expecting the monster to dive underground again.

"Well, at least that went well." I flicked my communicator back on. "Send'em home boys and girls, we're done here."

I stretched and tried to work the kinks out of my muscles before heading back to the Dojo. Maybe I could get Alpha to make me lunch, I didn't feel like cooking after this.

---

"Was it easy?"

I blinked, and turned my attention from my sandwich to the person sitting across from me.

Turns out that Alpha had to check out the Zords to make sure they were kept in working order. Adam was still out and honestly I didn't feel like cooking. So I wandered around trying to decide on a place to eat out. Eventually I decided on a nice sandwich and walked into a cafe. Turns out that Kevin was there drinking... something. I decided to order a sandwich and join him.

We chatted about random stuff for a while. School, teachers we didn't like, a new video game that he had bought, after a bit we ran out of things to talk about and we just kinda sat there in silence. That is until Kevin decided to ask that question.

I frowned, "What do you mean?" I really hoped he wasn't trying to ask about Ranger stuff. There wasn't really anyone around, but I never could be comfortable talking about Ranger stuff in public. I guess it's just me being paranoid, but I'd hate for someone to overhear me and have my identity all over the net.

"I mean, when you first became a Ranger. Did," Kevin looked away, whatever he was asking seemed to be bothering him a lot, or maybe he was just being discrete. "Did you have the same problems we have?"

I sighed and propped up my head with my hand, "Not sure what problems you're talking about, but it wasn't an easy transition."

Kevin blinked. He looked surprised by that statement. "But you got over them didn't you. I mean, look at you now. You defeated the Dark Rangers. You gained the trust of the public and you're leading us. So how did you do it?"

I changed positions and tilted my chair on it's back two legs. "Dunno. It all kinda happened over time. If you have a specific problem in mind, like learning to fight or overcoming fear, I might be able to tell you." Had it only been seven months, it seemed like it had been so much longer.

Kevin seemed to contemplate whether or not to ask me, or maybe he was trying to decide on which problem he should ask. I couldn't really tell. Eventually he seemed to decide to ask whatever it was that was bothering him.

"Did you ever think that you shouldn't be a Ranger?"

I blinked. Then I started to laugh a bit. Of all questions it had to be that one. Kevin, I guess thought I was making fun of him, scowled.

"Sorry, sorry," I waved apologetically, "but I still don't think I should be a Ranger." Seeing his disbelief I elaborated, "Trust me, I've mostly gotten over it, but it's not a feeling that you forget."

"I don't believe you. Why the hell would you think you're not fit to be a Ranger?"

I took a sip of my drink and closed my eyes. _'You have to open up to them eventually.'_ A voice that suspiciously sounded like Uncle Adam said. I mentally sighed at the advice and leaded forward. "It was a couple of months after I became the Green Ranger."

_Flashback_

_The battle wasn't going in my favor. The Dark Rangers were getting smarter, and attacking in groups rather than spreading themselves out. This time all five of them were attacking Angel Grove. Specifically they were attacking the Youth Center. _

___I was starting to run ragged from all the repeated attacks. I didn't have the luxury to switch off with teammates and I knew that fighting all five of them probably wasn't a good idea but luckily the A.M. squad were there and giving me some back up fire._  


_"Aww, I feel so special. It's so rare that I get to see all five at you at once. Did you guys miss me?" __I ducked under a wild swing from the Red Ranger's Power Sword and swiped his Blade Blaster. "Yoink!" _

___I fired a few shots point blank at the Red Ranger before I switched the thing to saber mode. I held it alongside my Dragon Dagger and charged the rest of the Rangers. I ducked under a swing from the Power Axe and blocked a slash from someone's Blade Blaster and managed to kick away the Blue Ranger after he got a stab in with his Power Lances. ____I was lucky that my suit offered a bit more protection than theirs._

_"You're open!"_

_I twisted around just in time to catch an arrow in the shoulder that the Pink Ranger shot before I was pulled back into the fray. The A.M. squad gathering the Pink Ranger's attention with their own, albeit, weaker blasters. __I turned around and slashed the recovered Red Ranger with both my Dagger and his Blade Blaster as he tried to sneak up on me. _

___I pulled back to catch a breather. I knew that I couldn't keep this up much longer. I could feel my transformation start to fray at the edges._

_"Come guys, this is getting kinda old."_

_The Pink Ranger rested her hands on her hips, "Then why don't you die then. That'll be new."_

_"Yeah, not going to happen."_

_The Red Ranger stepped forward, "That's what you think. Put'em together!"_

_I watched confused as all five of them pulled out their weapons and threw them together. I was surprised to see them combine into what looked like a very large gun. I mentally swore. All the Rangers teams had some sort of super weapon. This was theirs._

_"Fire!"_

_I swore again before dodging the large energy blast that came my way. I shakily picked myself up. That was too close. "Geez, you guys need some aiming practice."_

_The rangers started laughing. "Who says we were aiming for you?"_

_My eyes widened and I turned around. The A.M. squad was scattered around. The blast had hit the car they were using as cover and blown them away. I ran over to the closest one and placed my hand on her neck. _

_I couldn't find a pulse. I stared at the officer in disbelief. Suddenly very afraid, I ran over to the next one and check him and the next and the next..._

_There were only a few survivors. The Anti-Monster squad wasn't equipped with material that could stand a shot like that. The car shrapnel from the explosion had done the rest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't get past the fact that these people who had only helped me protect Angel Grove were dead. All they wanted was to protect their homes and their loved ones. I could hear the Dark Rangers laughing behind me. _

_"You bastards!" I couldn't take them. I knew that intellectually. There had been too many battles and my transformation was already ready to fall at the nearest moment. It didn't matter to me. I would tear through each and every one of them even if I had to do it with my bare hands._

_I turned to charged the Rangers but they all disappeared in a flash of colors. I bent my head as I heard their laughter ring around me. I grabbed my head and screamed out to the heavens in frustration._

_"ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHH!"_

_End Flashback_

Kevin was staring at me in horror. "God. I don't remember that at all."

I grinned weakly. "I doubt it'll make you feel any better, but that was probably the worst attack you guys ever did." I took a sip of my drink and contemplated how to tell the next part, "I was in no shape to fight after that. I had run myself pretty thin with the whole double life thing and the emotional stress of the situation just kinda got to me. I don't really remember the next few days other than the fact I was looking for the five of you."

Kevin stared at me apprehensively, "This sounds like it's going to get worse. Please don't tell me it got worse."

"It always gets worse. Trust me, any problem you have is going to get worse before you reach a resolution. And don't worry, the worse part is more about me than you guys destroying the city. I had looked for you guys for days, and I just couldn't find you. If there was an attack it was over by the time I could get there. It got to the point were I collapsed in the middle of my search."

_Flashback_

_I groaned lightly as I woke up. _

_"Wha?"_

_My vision swam as I tried to recall what I had been doing, or figure out where I was. A familiar ceiling came into my view._

_"This is...?"_

_"Your room."_

_I tilted my head to the side and found Uncle Adam sitting there. He didn't look too happy to see me._

_"How'd I get here?" My head felt really fuzzy and I couldn't really remember much._

_"I got a call that someone found you collapsed on the street. They wanted to send you to the hospital, but I managed to convince them to just let me take you home." He sighed, "What happened?"_

_I closed my eyes. He was probably asking about my collapse, but all I could think about was the battle. "I lost." I spat out the statement. "I...Damnit!" I could feel the tears trying to force their way out._

_"The cities still standing, so it couldn't have been a total loss." _

_I glared at my uncle. How could he be so calm. _

_"The cities still standing? Great! For how long. I can barely move, and that last battle kinda took out a good portion of the A.M. Squad." I gritted my teeth at the memory of the battle, "But's it's all okay isn't it? The cities still standing!" _

_I realized that I was shouting by this point and just looked away from my uncle. __I pushed myself up into a sitting position. The Dragonzord Power Coin and morpher laid on the desk next to my bed. I grab it and just stared at the thing. _

_My voice had dropped to a whisper "I lost... I couldn't protect the city, and now the city is pretty much screwed because of me." I traced the outline of the footprint on the Power Coin wondering where I went wrong._

_End Flashback._

"The city got busted up pretty badly during that time, but a few of the older Rangers showed up to help so the damage was kept pretty minimal." I said with a sad sigh.

"I, on the other hand had my spirit broken. I had no confidence, and as I recovered physically I kinda fell apart mentally. I had quarantined myself in my room. I didn't listen to my uncle and when the other Rangers showed up to talk I just kinda blocked them out. There was this mindset that they couldn't help, or that they wouldn't understand. So I ran away from Angel Grove, or at least I tried to." I grin ruefully at the thought, "It was a selfish thing to do, and I both regret it and don't regret it at the same time."

Kevin looked at me in confusion. "That doesn't really make any sense."

"Every little thing we do, both good and bad make up who we are." I said with a sad smile. "I'm who I am right now because I had that break down."

"That's one way to look at it, but wouldn't have been better to not break down at all?"

"Probably, but the thing is. I did break down. There's no changing that."

Kevin frowned, "Then how did you get over it? What made you stay even though you didn't feel like a Ranger."

I winced, "I had some help..."

_Flashback_

_I ran._

_I ran as fast as I could._

_I couldn't do this anymore. There had to be someone else._

_____I was the good guy, _I had fought off the Dark Rangers.

_And what did I have to show for it?_

_The people I swore I would protect were gone._

_The city I was to protect was slowly falling apart._

_I had all this power and I can't even control it._

_I had all this potential and I squandered it._

_Maybe, if I had practiced, maybe if I hadn't wasted all that energy it would have been different._

_Maybe those people would still be here._

_But maybes didn't change what had happened._

_I didn't know what to do anymore._

_So I ran._

_-_

_I didn't get far._

_I had gotten to the city limits before a red blur blindsided me and laid me out._

_"Geez kid, did you seriously think you could out run me?" The young man in red was looking down at me in amusement._

_I groaned and sat up before glaring up at him, "Che. Guess not."_

_He rolled his eyes before sitting down next to me. "Listen kid, I know what your thinking, but it's not the right choice."_

_I didn't believe him, and the expression on my face conveyed that fact. "Really, you're the indirect reason why several policemen are dead, and a good portion of the city is in ruin because of your incompetence."_

_The man blinked before shrugging, "No to the first, yes to the second."_

_I paused, "Really?"_

_"Trust me, our early battles in the Zords were not friendly to the city."_

_I frowned, "Wait, which red are you again?"_

_The man raised an eyebrow, "The super speed didn't give you a clue."_

_"I know that red Dino Thunder and the Ninjetti can do that, oh and so can Ninja Storm, but I was under the impression that the ninja streak wouldn't look red." I said with a shrug._

_"Connor McKnight, Red Dino Thunder." _

_"Right, right." I started to draw circles in the dirt, "So? Where's the pep up speech?" I wasn't going to get anywhere with speedy here, so I may as well listen to what he had to say. Maybe he would leave after he was done._

_He had a thoughtful look on his face, "Huh? Oh, right. Leaving isn't the option you want to take." I motioned him to elaborate. "I had a different more shallow motive, but I didn't want to be a Ranger at one point either. Heck I tried to leave the team. But you know what made me stay?"_

_"Overbearing family and previous Rangers telling you that you have to stay?" I got a smack on the back of the head for that one._

_"No, I was reminded of the people that I was protecting."_

_"That's great but we kinda have a problem. I can't protect anyone, or did the massive death toll not indicate that!" I shouted._

_"You can't only be focusing on those guys." I was about to shout at him when he glared at me. I got the message and shut up and listened._

_"It's bad that they died, don't get me wrong about that, but they were trained to fight those monsters knowing they could die. Yes, a good amount of men and women died, but guess what? There are thousands more in the city that didn't die because of you, and there are millions more that could die if you don't keep fighting. If you haven't remembered you're protecting an entire planet. Even if a person dies in a battle, you're preventing so many more from sharing that fate." Connor got up to his feet and started back towards the city. Though he left me with one last bit of advice. _

_"It's a good thing to try to protect every person you can, but you have to remember the big picture too. Don't miss the forest because you were only looking at the trees."_

_End Flashback_

"Wow, that's deep."

I grinned, "Yeah. Red's are the leader for a reason. They may seem like they aren't the smartest bunch, but they do have those golden moments of wisdom. It made me realize that even though I may not feel like I was doing a much, the reality was that me being a Ranger was keeping a lot of people safe. The moment I give up and let the bad guy win is the moment that I'm not fit to be a Ranger."

As Kevin digested the story and the pearl of wisdom Connor gave me, I pulled out my cell to check the time. It was getting pretty late. "Look man, I've got to head home." I stood up to leave but paused and turned back to Kevin. "Don't worry too much. It takes some time to get used to, but you'll find yourself trying to remember when you weren't a Ranger."

Kevin nodded with a small smile on his face. "Right. And thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

_Here we go. The second chapter of A New Shade of Ranger._

_This would have been out a lot earlier, but I had a little argument with my dad and had my laptop taken away from me. That really didn't help with my writing schedule._

_Special Thanks to TsukiNamida for Beta Reading this so far._

_Read and Review._


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